Stellar Love: A Mate I Never Chose

“Have you heard? Lady Smith’s daughter has returned to the family after being believed to be dead for ten years.” The overly excited voice of a middle-aged female outside my window pierced through my still very sleepy, hungover brain. Why did they have to be so loud so early in the morning? Well, okay, it was probably not that early because the sun was blasting through my window and that only happened in the early afternoon. That bright sunlight was forcing me to roll over and hide my face in my pillow. “Really? Are they sure it is really her? It is a bit strange for someone to return after so long, sounds more like something out of a soap opera." "No, it's really her. They did a DNA test and she matched one hundred percent. There is no doubt that it is really her. Even if it sounds like a soap opera and not real life." Both women chuckled and, apparently, the sound of their laughter was even worse than their voices, and I thought that it was impossible for a sound to be even more annoying. "And what about the girl they adopted? The one that they had a celebration for yesterday. Everyone knows that she was adopted as a replacement… so now that her real daughter is back… What will happen to her?” The other woman had just as high-pitched a voice as the first one… hers was maybe even higher, making her sound like a dolphin, and it was really hurting my brain. Their topic of conversation was not making me feel any better also. The topic of Jessica returning was all everyone had talked about the last few months and... and I was so done with it. All those looks of pity, because of my new situation with my family, or looks of question as to why I was still here, started to get to me, and I was more than happy to start school tomorrow. “For now, the family has not made any announcements, and they have held the party for her, and that, I think, is an answer of its own. The Smiths are kind people, they probably won't throw the girl away, but I'm sure they will expect her to step down in the public eyes and let the real daughter take her place she has been occupying in her absence.” And here we have the clear example of people waiting for me to step out of the spotlight and let Jessica take her rightful place next to her parents... as if me being here affects her in any way. Not that I really cared about the spotlight being on me, and if Jessica wants it, she is more than welcome to take it. “I would not wish to be in place of the adopted daughter… her life has been thrown upside down… poor child…” Oh, and here is the pity... somehow this one feels even worse. Anger I can deal with, I had been dealing with it my whole life, because of my animal and the fact that I am a commoner that has been pushed into a society that do not want me here. But pity… I had seen it before because of the simple fact that I had never known my parent... it hits me in the wrong way. It rubs sensitive parts of me that I like to pretend does not exist, that I can not let the world see because they will eat me alive if that happens. “And that is not all. The man, that the adopted daughter was engaged to, was found with Miss Smith during his heat.” A loud inhale signaling the other woman's surprise was quite theatrical. “Oh god, that is… wow… If I was her, I could no longer stay with the Smiths… it would be too painful to be reminded of the betrayal, not to mention how embarrassing it is to face the world after such scandal…” The sound of the overexaggerated voices of the woman talking, were like needles piercing the skull, and I could no longer listen to them gossip. Why do they have to talk so loudly? Sure, gossip is like the pillar of the general population of the Capital, but don’t they have anything better to do or at least talk about so early in the morning? Very slowly, I lowered my feet to the ground and sat there frozen for a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning. Why do I feel so shitty? I know that it was partly my fault that I felt like s**t, because I drank last night, but I’m sure that I did not drink that much. Two glasses of wine should not have had this strong of an effect on me. With a loud sigh, I pressed my forehead up against the cool wall in hopes that it would ease the hungover headache, but it did little to ease the pain. Shit, how did I get so drunk on a few glasses of wine?  Usually it takes a few bottles of wine to get me even half as drunk as I was yesterday. My mind was too slow, still buzzy from the alcohol leaving my body, so I let those thoughts drop. There is no point trying to figure out how I managed to get drunk so easily. I could barely form coherent thoughts, so there was almost no chance that I could form full logical patterns even if I tried to. Without even meaning to, my thoughts turned to the reason why I drank in the first place, because usually I never drank at family functions. To survive in the higher society of the capital, you have to be in your top shape, because they will eat you without even blinking an eye if you show any signs of weakness and spit you out like trash they see you as. I had seen it too many times to fall for something so stupid. The reason why I did something, so stupid, was James.  My now ex-fiancé, well unofficial ex-fiance. The family hasn't made an announcement yet, so I am officially still engaged to him. I am sure they will not tell the real reason why we broke up, they won’t tell the upper class society of the capital that James cheated on me with my adopted sister.  Last night, they spent the whole evening in each other's arms, touching each other lovingly and unintentionally… or maybe intentionally, rubbing it in my face, how perfectly happy their love and new relationship was. It was actually mean of them to do that in the eye of the public, by doing that they were literally humiliating me in everyone's eyes, but when I told mother my concerns she brushed it off that I am making it up… so I brushed the hurt feelings off. This was a new normal in my life. Every time Jessica does something that I would call mean or hurtful is brushed off as me being too sensitive. So I had to suck it up and suffer through it. I manged to get used to it by now, but last night my reaction to their affection was a bit strange to me. It was not that I was heartbroken that James cheated on me with Jessica. He never had my heart for him to be able to break it in the first place. Our engagement was not one of love, at least not on my side. His family was rich and influential, so a union with him would give me a safe future. But the main reason why I had agreed to marry him when he asked was because it was what the family wanted. My parents, because Sarah and Michael were the only parents I ever knew, wanted me to marry James. I would do anything to repay the kindness they showed to me when they adopted me.  They wanted me to marry James, so I would marry him… or at least I would have if he had not chosen Jessica in my place. Jessica had been home for over a few months now. It was no news anymore, everyone had already seen or talked to the miracle girl that had returned home after a mysterious crash of her spacecraft ten years ago. Her returning home was a miracle… well, at least that was what everyone said. For me… well… I don’t know if I could call it a miracle… more like an unavoidable end to life as I knew it. I’m very happy for the Smith’s. They were good people. They always treated me with kindness and cared for me as if I was their own… well, up until now… up until the moment Jessica stepped back into their life.  I and everyone else knew that I was just a replacement for their lost daughter. They took me, because I looked like Jessica, and they hoped that I would fill the void that was left behind after she disappeared. But, they never made me feel like that, they were kind to me and gave me a home. So I’m happy that they have their daughter back… but it made my situation with them a bit difficult.  I was a replacement for a lost daughter… but now that she is back in their lives… where does that leave me? They are not pushing me aside intentionally, it’s just that the place I took up in their lives has now been returned to its rightful owner. Which left me more on the side lines then either they or I wanted to admit. My self-pity party was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Miss Michele, it’s past noon. You should wake up if you want to make it in time to the opening day at the Royal academy.” The sound of our maid's, Marina’s, voice filled the room. “I’m up, I will be down in a few minutes, Marina.” “That’s great, then I will get started on your breakfast.” “Thank you.” Slowly, I forced myself to get off the bed as I reached for my phone, but it was not in its usual place next to my pillow. What the hell? My eyes shot open, frantically searching for it, and I saw it on the ground next to my bed. Was I that drunk last night? I reached for the phone and saw that there were a few missed notifications, but the first one at the top made me freeze for a moment. Miss Michelle, we are happy to inform you that the Elderly council have found the perfect genetic match for a mate. Please come to the Elderly Council center today at one PM to meet your mate. Sincerely yours, The Elderly Council. *** Emperors palace Vibrations from my phone pulled me out of my sleep. A loud groan filled the room, I rubbed a hand over my sensitive eyes. s**t, I could feel everything in my body being a bit more sensitive, which was no surprise, but it was still very annoying. I will have to tell Richard to clear up my schedule for the next few days, as I won't be able to work like this. Reaching for my phone, I blinked a few times, trying to force my eyes to concentrate. There was a message from the Elders Council? What the hell would they want from me? They never contact me directly… Your Highness, we are happy to inform you that the Elderly council have found the perfect genetic match for a mate. Please come to the Elderly Council center today at one PM to meet your mate. Sincerely yours, The Elderly Council. A… a mate? What the hell?